Houzz Tour: An Antique Map Is the Star of This Condo
A light color palette, clean lines and thoughtful moves expand this compact Vancouver home’s horizons
It’s hard to imagine how a giant antique map could live harmoniously in a contemporary space, but in this Vancouver condo, it’s a big success. Interior designers Jamie Hamilton and Greer Nelson updated and opened up this once-dark and cramped condo, using a cohesive color palette and modern lines to make it bright, airy and efficient and seem larger than its 875 square feet.
“We were looking for a way to make this dining area really interesting,” Hamilton says. “We were looking at wallpapers when we came across a company that would enlarge maps to custom sizes.” This antique map of Vancouver is dated 1911 and includes the location of the condo.
Even though the map image dates back over 100 years, the large size and color palette fit right into the contemporary space. “We all fell in love with it — it’s old, interesting and a conversation starter,” Greer says. “It’s also subtle and does not make the space feel smaller — it’s still light and bright.”
The oversized string light works well with the scale of the map and the round pedestal table. The white background and neutral grays in the map are a great match for the table’s marble top and gray chairs.
Wallpaper: Majesty Maps
Even though the map image dates back over 100 years, the large size and color palette fit right into the contemporary space. “We all fell in love with it — it’s old, interesting and a conversation starter,” Greer says. “It’s also subtle and does not make the space feel smaller — it’s still light and bright.”
The oversized string light works well with the scale of the map and the round pedestal table. The white background and neutral grays in the map are a great match for the table’s marble top and gray chairs.
Wallpaper: Majesty Maps
The designers carried the marble from the tabletop through to the marble penny rounds on the backsplash. The counters are a polished gray quartz that picks up on the veining in the marble.
The kitchen is rather compact, so the designers outfitted it for maximum efficiency, including a small counter-depth refrigerator that fits the space, a hidden recycling bin under the sink and lots of efficient drawers.
The living room is completely open to the kitchen, so the designers continued the light, neutral color palette in here for a cohesive look. The views include English Bay and Burrard Bridge. They put a comfortable sectional into the corner of the room; the gray upholstered dining chairs are easy to move into the space when guests are over.
Floor lamps provide light for reading, while chunky knit poufs and a few other details provide black accents. One of the homeowner’s favorite colors is orange, so that was brought in via small accents. The use of orange inspired the turquoise accent color seen here on a throw pillow and on the barn door, because the two work so well together.
Floor lamps provide light for reading, while chunky knit poufs and a few other details provide black accents. One of the homeowner’s favorite colors is orange, so that was brought in via small accents. The use of orange inspired the turquoise accent color seen here on a throw pillow and on the barn door, because the two work so well together.
While the color palette keeps everything light and bright, a few key black accents add contrast and highlight design features. “We pushed for a matte black faucet,” Hamilton says. “That pop of black makes it a feature.”
The designers opted to paint the window frames black to highlight their architectural interest. The windows have motorized roller shades for privacy and to cool the south-facing room on bright summer days.
The team brought in color in careful doses, and the turquoise barn door makes a big impact in both style and function. The opening between the public spaces and the second bedroom was widened before the door was added. “A barn door is a space saver because it doesn’t have a swing, which allows for more furniture layout options,” Hamilton says.
This is not a typical barn door. “It’s clean and modern without being rustic,” Nelson says. “The black matte hardware and flat-panel door style keep it contemporary.”
This is not a typical barn door. “It’s clean and modern without being rustic,” Nelson says. “The black matte hardware and flat-panel door style keep it contemporary.”
The second bedroom is multifunctional, serving as a home office, TV den and guest room. The sofa pulls out into a bed, and the coffee table, which contains all of the bed linens, is on castors so it’s easy to roll out of the way.
The designers transformed the second bedroom’s closet into a workstation. “It’s so important to have multifunctional spaces; when you’re living in a small space, you have to take advantage of rooms that can perform double duty,” Nelson says.
In the couple’s bedroom, the bed has just enough room for right-sized nightstands on either side. The artwork is a personal touch. “One of the homeowners is a cigar aficionado, so we framed some of his cigar box tops in inexpensive Ikea frames,” Hamilton says. “Also, they each add a little bit of orange.”
The setup lends a sense of symmetry without being exact. The lamp shades are different shapes but are made of the same tan linen, which ties them together.
The setup lends a sense of symmetry without being exact. The lamp shades are different shapes but are made of the same tan linen, which ties them together.
After this phase was finished, the couple took a short break from construction to replenish their renovation funds. Nelson and Hamilton are putting the final touches on Phase 2, renovating both of the condo’s bathrooms.
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Houzz at a Glance
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 875 square feet (81 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designers: Jamie Hamilton and Greer Nelson of Oliver Simon Design
One of the clients had owned this condo for a while and had rented it out to tenants. When the clients decided to make it the first home they shared, they wanted to give it a serious update. “It was dark, chopped up and had a lot of 1980s finishes,” Hamilton says.
Before the remodel, the kitchen and dining area were closed off from each other — the beam over the peninsula marks where the wall between them used to be — making both feel cramped, small and dark.